


If he grew up good....

by Tunder28



Category: Hellboy - All Media Types, Looper (2012)
Genre: M/M, Poor John, Tk powers, We're all freaks here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:54:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28268718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tunder28/pseuds/Tunder28
Summary: John’s mom had always told him. Be a good boy. Behave. Play nice. She warned him that his anger was dangerous. He could hurt people if he wasn’t careful. Well, he supposed he was in the best place now. The BPRD, a place where all the freaks were welcome.Now all John had to do was keep quiet, pretending he was normal.
Relationships: John Myers/Nuada
Comments: 7
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Right- it’s a 2020- so its time for me to try hard or set an example for the year! No way I’m letting myself down. 
> 
> ENJOY MY HEAD CANNON! Send some love to the writer!

1.

Nuada heard the noise before it all fell apart.

A loud crack sounded above, drawing his attention up…and he saw it.

Time slowed, watching as rocks started to detach from the ceiling of the cave, fall in chunks, raining down around him. It made his foot shift, brushing against more debris. There was no adequate footing to move swiftly. He could only drop to the floor, time and body mass dragging him down sluggishly, and hope that the bigger falling rocks didn’t hit him.

His chance of survival was slim, even as one of the many rocks exploded into bit to the right of his head, scattering shards into his face and down the neck of his uniform. He crushed his eyes shut against the assault and instantly took a sharp hit to the elbow. Automatically, he rolled onto his side to minimise his size.

The noise was growing, nearly as loud as his heartbeat in his ears. He could hear more- the entire ceiling cracking- bits falling loose in quick succession.

This was it. The entire cave was groaning, grinding together, struggling to not fold in-

It was a large block of the ceiling that did it, giving way finally…and Nuada stared as the rest of it caved around it, chasing itself with a deep boom that overpowering everything else. The point of the break grew above him as the walls collapsed, pointed as if drawn to his very location.

A blurry rock the size of a small bolder was slopping towards his head and he shut his eyes, willing his mind still. He would not die full of fear, he would find his peace and-and… It touched the tip of his nose with sudden coldness- and stopped.

The sound of gravel spilling through cracks was thunderous in the sudden quiet, and it made Nuada very aware of just how fast his heart was beating. The ribs above his breastbone ached with it. His throat pounded with the drum of it and his head spun with its sickening rhythm.

He should be dead. Crushed. But he wasn’t. The rock destined for his face floating a mere inch away. It scraped at his nose tip as he turned- turned towards where he could feel that _pressure_ coming from, where the centre of that stillness resided.

There stood his caretaker, struggling hand outstretched and nose bloody and… -doing _something_ that was stopping all the rocks from raining down onto him.

It wasn’t possible.

Moving slowly, Nuada slid himself backwards across the cavern floor, away from the hulking shape above until he could crouch safely out from under it. He stepped gently away; fearing one wrong tap would bring everything tumbling down.

“Nuada!”

-It wasn’t possible-

“Nua-AH!” the shout was part pain and stark terror. At once, Nuada looked up, watching one half of the room _drop_ \- and he acted.

Leaping over a rock twice his chests size, he side stepped another and met his caretaker head on.

It seemed the fool had been running headfirst into the mess to _save him_.

Twisting into a landing crouch, Nuada caught hold of that annoying black jacket that the man constantly had to wear. It was not suited for battle, but it _was_ useful now in allowing him to continue the fall, dragging his caretaker with him and out of the hole where the entrance had previously been. Now it was only big enough for Nuada to fold them through it, scraping his cheek and banging the humans shoulder hard into its edge.

They fell out and over each other, the human crying out in pain when Nuada landed on his stomach and winded himself on the man’s upturned knee. 

The human was not so graceful in his fall, succeeding in head butting the metal shoulder pad of Nuada’s armour and cutting his brow. They finished their roll in a starfish sprawl, legs and arms thrown out to stop any further momentum and scaring the agent guarding the entrance.

“Sir!” one of the agents shouted, hand on his gun. What the man thought he could do against a cave-in, Nuada could not fathom. It was only further proof of humanities collective stupidity.

But the pause was enough for rational thought to sink in.

They’d only been working together 3 weeks and already his caretaker had managed to save his life twice. It was unbearable to consider, but twice was too many times that he would need a humans help.

“Simmons!” John sat up, coughing and struggling to get Nuada off him, “the caverns falling in. Get everyone out!”

Nuada could at least admit that when scared, humans reacted relatively fast. They had an inkling of survival instinct that had survived time.

Part of the wall to their left cracked and it got them moving.

While it would be disgraceful to be seen fleeing with humans, Nuada would not remain when death was certain.

Making it safely outside, Nuada sighed through his nose and dabbed a clean cloth at his cheek, watching as the rest of the structure slowly succumbed to the collapse. What a waste of time. They hadn’t managed to get the staff, an assignment frankly far beneath his role.

Perhaps he’d reconsider next time. Boredom was better than this…

And even more annoying, he could hear someone shouting, the sound mechanical through the device in Johns hand, something about “ancient”- and “-irreplaceable!” and “Nuada again!”

John- his ill advised caretaker- was glaring at Nuada and nodding along, stuttering apologies back to the voice.

Nuada gave him a brief arch of his brow, enough to cow anyone…expect John, who just shook his head at him and gave Nuada his back, continuing to apologies in a neutral tone.

It didn’t matter. Nuada didn’t care for his disapproval. What he did need, was a bath.

\---

“Did you really have to break the alter?” John asked. He was tired. He was hungry. He was dirty and he did _not_ want to be standing in Nuada’s room back at the BPRD and get _murder stare no.2_ from Nuada because _it was his fault!._

“Yes” Nuada answered in a clipped tone and turned, finished cleaning his spear and placed it safely back on its rack. The table shook at the impact and John, wisely, changed topic.

“Are you injured?” he asked, remembering their tumble. He’d had to get his eyebrow taped over and some paracetamol for the pain, but other than a bruised butt, he was fine.

Nuada had been in the middle of the cave in.

And John was trying not to think about that. About him. About Nuada’s eyes and his _expression_ when he’d looked at John. Knowing what John could do.

He watched Nuada’s back grow tense and the elf stopped walking away from him. Perhaps he’d been thinking along the same lines.

Quietly, John braced himself for the questions. What would he say this time. Heat of the moment? Adrenaline?- a deadly situation could cause the brain to think up all kinds of things. Maybe-

“No. Leave” Nuada commanded and went over to his bed. But he didn’t sit on it, waiting for John to go so he could rest.

John beat a very hasty retreat, silently thankful that today was not the day he’d have _that_ talk.

Simmons was waiting for him in the corridor, rifle resting behind his back and a wary look on his face.

“Sir?” Simmons started, walking with John down the corridor. For a 5 ft 7 man with a slim build, he carried the weapon with ease, like it belonged.

“Sir, I’ve given the report to Manning personally. You don’t need to worry, I’ve detailed the cave in and Nuada’s involvement-”

Simmons was a good man, to a point. If push came to shove, he’d save his own neck before yours. It wasn’t anything personal. Merely survival. But he was a boss pleaser. And he was getting one too many agents in trouble for it.

John would have to counter sign the report and he knew there was a black marker in his draw somewhere.

“Thanks Simmons. Everyone get out ok?” John asked. He was dead on his feet, but he still had a few more things to do before he could sleep.

Reports, counter signatures, equipment catalogue and damage control. And security feeds that needed to be looked over.

Broom had been **_sure_** of Johns place with Hellboy and the rest of the team. So sure, in fact, that John questioned just how _much_ the professor knew about him.

The man hadn’t said anything, but John had always seen that look in his eyes, the ‘perched at the edge of your seat’ look that the professor had around him. A weighted pressure, one that grew the longer John held onto his secret.

In the end, Broom had died before confirming anything, And John had been sent away to Antarctica.

And now he was back. And everything was different.

Abe was hold up with princess Nuala, who’d conveniently brought along her estranged brother.

Prince Nuada had taken one look at John and sneered.

And this had invented John’s calculation system of death glares when he’d been informed John was to be his handler, his caregiver and now the agent in change.

John was now the most experience agent in dealing with royal assholes. Minus Abe. And Liz. Which was another headache to add to the many.

The BPRD wasn’t an ideal place to raise children, demonic ones at that, who had a spark for mischief and a case of pyrokinesis. There was now a fire exhaust on every level and new hydrants covertly positioned around the grounds and in the gardens.

John wasn’t taking chances. The building housed almost all the agents the BPDR had to offer, and it was a big place. No need to let fate take a chance, so John improvised.

It’d been one of his first orders.

Manning hadn’t been pleased with the budget, but already they’d put out more fires than they’d had call outs to scenes. So he quietly shook John’s hand, welcomed him back, and told him to get to work.

Simmons was still talking, fidgeting with his hands and trying to insist on how John would come out squeaky clean and-

“Thank you Agent Simmons” it came out harsh, and John relaxed his tense shoulders and turned to face the man. Forcing his voice to soften, John surveyed Simmons. He was just as tired and dirty as John. He’d probably watched, horror struck, as the cave gave way with John and Nuada still inside.

For that, John let Simmons meet his eye and smile sleepily. “It’s been a long day. Go get some rest and some dinner. Is the cafeteria still open?”

“No sir, chef’s all go to bed at ten” Simmons sounded down trodden but was already edging away, looking like he wanted to go.

“Alright. I’ll get on the reports tonight. Thanks”

Simmons slipped away and John unlocked his door and shut it again, swinging his ID card to activate higher level locks. He didn’t want any interruptions. Not tonight.

His card allowed him access to on site cameras, and like one of his many nightly duties, John went back over them. Checked for any slip ups that could happen by chance and ruin…whatever this was.

He was clear, no stray cups floating into hand, no reports levitating and discontinuing their slow slide to the floor.

He was lucky. Again.

Turning away, he went over to the reports and pulled open his draw, uncapping his black marker with his teeth and got to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been on and off writing and this idea was what kept me tapping away at the keyboard. My other story/ies are on hold at the moment while i work through a slow period. 
> 
> FOR COVER ART  
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gPGpqDk7fZCW2hT2eT4rzuFCNTMbJtHb/view?usp=sharing


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to keep you waiting. sent me some love- or hate- or ideas.

Nuada wasn’t happy. He was restless. He was angry and what was worse was, a human had managed to confuse him.

While granted, humans had many traditions that were stupid and unneeded, but confusion was not something they offered him.

John Myers had an ability.

And he’d saved his life.

Taking his shower hadn’t settled him. He was still pacing his room, eyeing his spear and wondering if he should forsake sleep and train. He couldn’t get any good movement in his room, the space too small for any benefit. But he didn’t want to go to the gym, where any loose agent might come across him.

He’d taken to the basement, where sounds reverberated and no one could sneak closer without him knowing. There were cameras everywhere, as his caretaker had found him many times, eyes warily watching Nuada move through his routine. Each time always brought that inquiring look, curious to what had ticked him off this time…

Nuada gritted his teeth and forced the thought away. He didn’t care about them. They were weak and only offered questions that he and Nuala couldn’t answer. _How were they back? Where did they go in death?-_

He didn’t know. Oblivion had taken them, and now they were returned.

He had no answers for them. And now he had questions, thoughts about John Myers and how he was _able_ to stop death from claiming him again.

The rock should have killed him. He should be dead. And he’d been saved by his enemy.

He knew what troubled him, but he wouldn’t face it tonight. For now, he grabbed his spear and left his room, heading down to the basement. 

Perhaps some light training would grant him peace enough to sleep.

\---

_“Remember baby” she said, rubbing his fringe out of his eyes when she noticed his crinkled nose, “you stay calm. Ok? Be good”_

_Her face was foggy, the farm behind her wavering, but John held on. He had to. Feeling his little hand lift, he struggled to force his fingers to move, grab hold of his mothers, tucking his smaller hand under her rougher one._

_She’d been out in the fields, tending to the crops, like always. Her skin was raspy and warm, tough and familiar. It felt so right that he-he tightened his hold on her._

_“Baby” her voice was urgent now. “Let go. Mommy needs to-”_

-

It was the vibrating of his phone that woke him, sounded by his ear, jolting him violently out of sleep. When he opened his eyes, rocking his head towards the noise, the room _shook_. Book vibrated in the shelves. His coffee cup wobbled precariously closer to the end of the table. His neat and filed folders spilled out over his desk like someone had swept them aside.

He dazedly watched the papers settle, dropping his head back in defeat.

He was doing it again.

Shutting his eyes to block out his now messy room, he blindly reached for the phone.

“Hello” he mumbled, pushing the duvet off his legs, sitting himself up. He was still tired. The dream was back and he was-

“Hello? John?” a familiar voice said, trying to get his attention. They’d asked him a question and he couldn’t focus. The dream was too close to the surface and now his room-

“Yeah I’m here”

He wasn’t, but he rubbed the grit from his eyes and forced himself to listen and not watch the room in case the books should jump in the shelves again.

“Could you come down to the library please?” Abe’s said and John sat up straighter, realising he should’ve had his mental shields up.

Abe was one of the few people who’d glimpsed past his veil. He hadn’t told John what he’d seen, but he was careful with John in the beginning, leaving breadcrumbs of friendship, offering support if he needed it.

And John’d run, like a coward. Proclaimed to Clay that Abe was ‘weird’ and then…he’d met Hellboy.

“I’ll be right down”

He made record time throwing his previous days clothes back on, grabbed up his ID and swiping into the library and catching Abe and Nuala…very close. He must have made a noise, because the two quickly jumped back, eyeing him warily, like he’s tell them off. He wouldn’t, but he was glad Nuada wasn’t here to scowl at them.

Nuada didn’t approve. No one else really cared. There had been some speculation on what the future children would look, in the beginning and only between certain agents. John had been quick to nip that in the butt.

The two of them were happy and John was happy for them. Really, he was.

But some agents had started hinting at the idea of a summer wedding, only doing so in glee when Nuada had sneered at them.

In his words, Nuala was a princess, and Abe…was nothing. He had no title, no lineage, nothing to offer Nuala, and so he’d made clear he did not approve.

And the two had continued on, happy and in bliss and only slightly wide eyed when Nuada stormed out of the area.

“er-Sorry” John said, holding his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t mean to in-erm”. He didn’t want to insinuate-

“It’s fine John” Abe waved a hand at him and took up Nuala’s with his other, guiding her around the table. “We were just discussing the shards recovered at the site of the cave in. You see,” Abe displayed the ruins of rock and glass, “these are what are left of the-er-staff”.

John cast a defeated look at him, trying not to project the idea of his bed. He was 2 hours early already and there was no chance of clocking off later with all the paper work still at his desk. Somehow, Agents had decided that this year was the year they actually did their paperwork, and drop it off in John’s in-tray.

Abe jolted back-violently.

“Abe?!” reaching out, John tried to steady him, but Abe pulled back, tucking his arms in close and almost shying away from him.

“Abe?-What’s wrong?” he asked again, trying to fight down the terror. Was he hurt. Had he done something to Abe, was-

No. There was stillness behind him, and when John swung his head around, hand going to his belt where his gun was _supposed_ to be, Nuada stood not 2 feet away. Still, his hand reflexively twitched, trying to grab at his none existing gun, and the edge of Nuada’s lip twitched, amused.

Concerned, John silently wished he hadn’t rushed out of his room so fast and left his gun behind. He didn’t plan to shoot Nuada, but…it was best to be safe than sorry. Manning hadn’t been impressed at housing the an old enemy and he’d stated very clear, that should Nuada so much as scrape another human, he was to be put down.

“Sister” Nuada acknowledged her with a bow of his head, “what is keeping you from our morning walk?”

Nuala, bless her, tapped her hands on the table and discreetly dropping Abe’s.

“Brother, we were caught up in the essence of the staff shards”.

She followed Abe’s example, waving her hand down at the mess, and her eyebrows drooped when Nuada merely flicked his eyes to it and back.

“Come dear sister, walk with me” Nuada half turned, shoulders and head tilted towards the door, but he waited for her to come around the table and take his arm, folding his over hers and left the room.

“Ok” John said to the silent room, “What was that about?”

Abe shook his head, coming as close to frustrated as John had ever seen him. “Never mind him, Nuala will be back shortly”.

To ease the tension, John stepped closer to the table, giving it his full focus. “What did you wanna show me Abe?”

Like a light going on above his head, Abe waved his arms, “Yes, of course. Here John, take a seat”. He swept around and pulled out the stool, positioning it so John had a good view.

“You see here, with a slight push of pressureee” Abe drew out the word as he used a hammer to press down on one of the shards. The result was pretty serious, the hammer glowing amber at the contact, -hissing- and rebounding, imbedding in the ceiling. The shard remained unharmed, shimmered with white speckles of magic.

In the chaos, he’s stumbling back, upending the chair. Stared up in shock, John quickly looking back down to the shards and then to Abe, who was watching John’s expression with rapt interest. Too much interest.

Quickly, John pushed his shields up as he tried to cloak what he was thinking. He wasn’t thinking about pressure and rocks, the sound of it grinding in his ears and the air going thin-

God, if a simple press of a hammer could do that, what would have been the result of Nuada giving it a swift smack to dislodge it from the mantle. Perhaps a shockwave big enough to cause a cave in?

What would have happened if _his_ power had touched the spear?

Deep inside, John let that fearful thought settle. They were lucky it hadn’t.

“So yes, we now have our answer as to the tremors being reported by the neighbouring towns. Perhaps someone had been trying to harness the magic and had taken to shipping away at it. The repercussions could have been dire for the surrounding towns had it ignited at its full form”

“What?” John interrupted, because he was pretty sure he’d _been_ there when the thing had gone off. The cave in had been big, but the towns were many miles away.

“Oh” Abe tapped at his mouth, round eyes staring into John as if realising he may have downplayed John’s little near death experience. “I merely meant that this is not the full shard. You see, the length of this tip-” Abe held it up to the light, “is far longer than the rest”.

“Meaning there are more shards out there that could go boom with some pressure” John finished, not liking the idea of it. It meant more work for them, following up on who had previous had the staff, why they’d tucked it away in a cave and where the hell were they when the teams moved in.

“Mmm” Abe hummed, gently putting his selected shard back on the table, “a trouble for another day”.

Thankfully Nuala was back before they could test any more of the shards. Abe’s back straightened as she entered and together they drew close, holding out hands that the other took up with bliss and closing eyes.

It was very…personal.

And embarrassingly. And when John glanced at the door, looking to escape, Nuada was there, staring at John.

It made his stomach jolt and his nerve fray. He wasn’t ready to have his secret exposed. What would Nuada say? Who would he tell? Nuala maybe? Had he already told her? Would he gloat, hold the information over John; would he wait for the perfect opportunity?

“John?” Abe said and John couldn’t take it. He had to know if Nuada would keep his mouth shut, he couldn’t –

“I’ve gotta go Abe” John rushed towards the door, now vacant of the prince, but that didn’t stop him from following his retreating shadow. John intended to grab him before he got away.

“John?” Abe said again, louder this time, but John ignored him and moved quickly down the corridor. He tried to walk as fast as he could, following Nuada’s tense back as he ducked down a side corridor, towards the gardens, but he was losing the pace.

Agents waved to John and he nodded his head to then, making it clear he couldn’t stop to chat.

Shockingly, the door to the gardens was left open and when John got to it, he could see Nuada further in, hand lifted to the wilting head of a Rafflesia Flower. The red and orange tones of the plant seemed stronger compared to Nuada’s paleness as he dropped his head, touching the tip of his fingers under the spread petals and pushing them out gently.

It shouldn’t be possible to rejuvenate plants by touch, but John swore he could actually see the redness intensify, throbbing as Nuada’s whispered down to it.

Uncertain if he **should** interrupt, John gently stepped past the door, raising a hand to rap on the frame. The noise was quiet, and yet Nuada’s yellowed eyes shot up towards him, dripping with displeasure. So far he hadn’t upgraded to utter hatred for mankind, so John wandered in, moving closer to Nuada as he allowed the petals to hold themselves.

“What do you want human”

Nervously, John tucked his hands in and out of his jacket pocket. He’d been so certain that Nuada would jump on the chance to throw what he knew in John’s face, he hadn’t been expecting to…initiate the conversation.

Nuada didn’t like speaking to humans. He made it difficult when he didn’t want to discuss things. John had often been on the receiving end of Nuada’s humanity ending rants and had actually been certain one time that Nuada meant to kill him.

But he hadn’t.

“I need to talk-with you” John finished lamely and Nuada gave him a glowering stare that hinted John should get to the point quickly. “It’s about the mission, the other day”

Nuada didn’t react, so John continued, tongue struggling to form the words he needed. And he really needed Nuada to be quiet about this.

“Its about…what you saw. With me. I-I mean you saw it, I just, I –er- needed to ask you about it. To…to not talk about it”.

This wasn’t going well. There could be microphones easily hidden among the bushes, concealed behind the ceiling tiles.

“So as I am to understand” Nuada answered, turning his back on John to go to another endangered plant, “We are to discuss something that…you do not want to discuss”.

“Ah-yes?”

Nuada must be running out of patients, because that answer didn’t even warrant him getting a glare. If anything, Nuada was slowing losing any focus on the conversation and going further into the garden, towards plants marked with signs with big black X’s on and ‘danger’ bolded.

“Nua- Prince Nuada” John rushed to follow, going up to the red line on the floor, the one there to warn to go no further. “It’s important that key details of that mission aren’t to be discussed freely”

Maybe he could work it that it was part of an authority check, that some people didn’t have the same level of clearance as others.

Whatever he was expecting, being grabbed violently by the front of his jacket and dragged bodily in front of Nuada was not it. Automatically, his hand went to his throat, but Nuada wasn’t choking him, just holding him roughly.

They were in the danger zone now, the black sign almost taunting as it peeked over Nuada’s shoulder as John tried to push him off.

For his trouble, Nuada shook him roughly and John felt his teeth click.

“Human!” Nuada hissed quietly, “Do not speak in riddles. I will not tolerate it from the likes of you. I saw what you choose to deny. I-saw- you”

John hated how those select words sent dread plunging into his stomach and made his legs go weak. He couldn’t-

“Had I’d known you were alike to Elizabeth, perhaps you’d have been of assistance on our _mission_ ” Nuada sneered at the end, as if whatever part John previously had to play in them was meaningless.

Slowly, the hold grew less aggressive.

“You”, continued Nuada, “are different to the humans here. Other”.

“Yeah he sure is!” A loud voice retorted behind them and John felt pure terror grip him. He knew that voice and he didn’t need to turn his head to see Hellboy stood there, trench coat open and a hand on his weapons belt. 

Hellboy stood safely behind the red line, trademark cigar in his mouth and red tail twitching into view. He also, John noted, had one red finger on the samaritan.

“You wanna put him down your princeling, or am I gonna have ta break up this dance?”

Nuada’s eyebrows drooped. With his head still turned to glare at Hellboy, he unclenched his hands from John’s jacket, releasing him.

While the two hated each other, Nuada would not risk the garden being trashed.

“This isn’t over” he whispered towards John’s direction, and stormed off around them, further into the deadly plant section.

Faintly John patted himself down, realising belatedly that his heart was beating like a drum in his throat. Just another near death experience to add to the scoreboard. 

“You ok boy scout?” Hellboy asked, eyes following Nuada until he was out of sight. “What was all that about? And why’d he mention liz?”

Pressing a hand to his heart, John straightened himself out. He couldn’t seem to meet Hellboys eyes, so he shuffled around his big frame, shaking his head. “I don’t know. Probably gearing up for another insult no doubt”

Screw him, he had paperwork to do. And _if_ Nuada said anything….John didn’t know what he was going to do.


End file.
